"It's like going to look at houses. Their pro day gives you a feeling of who is better - who has the stronger arm, the most accuracy.

"I was out last night with a couple of scouts. The consensus was the best pro day we'd seen was Sam Bradford's with his accuracy, velocity, everything. His showing led him to becoming the No. 1 overall pick in 2010 by the St. Louis Rams.''

Bortles was alone among the big three quarterbacks in the 2014 class to throw at the Indianapolis scouting combine. He impressed with his strong arm, smooth feet, accuracy and competitive moxie.

Bridgewater, who led Louisville to a 23-3 record his final two seasons, is widely considered the most pro-ready passer after calling plays and setting protections pre-snap for three seasons.

"He's ahead of the game as it relates to most kids getting ready for the NFL,'' said Chris Weinke, director of football for IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla, who has helped Bridgewater prepare for his showcase. "He has an uncanny ability to process information very quickly and that translates to the next level."

Hall of Fame, two-time Super Bowl-winning New York Giants coach Bill Parcells spent several hours meeting with Bridgewater at a Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. restaurant at the request of his former New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys safety Abram Elam, who serves as an adviser to Bridgewater.

Bridgewater's intangibles stood out.

"He's a very, very good young man with a good degree of intelligence and a substantial amount of determination. I was highly impressed,'' Parcells told USA TODAY Sports on Sunday.

"He's got his head on right, knows where he wants to go. And I think he will make every effort that his ability allows him in order to get there."

The 6-5, 232-pound Bortles met formally with the Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Oakland Raiders and Minnesota Vikings among other teams at the combine.

He led coach George O'Leary's Central Florida team to a 12-1 record capped by a Fiesta Bowl upset of Baylor. Bortles completed 67.8% of his passes with 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

"The skill set I possess is being able to extend plays, being able to handle a lot of offense,'' Bortles said. "Making the right decisions on and off the field, not embarrassing the franchise or your last name I think is huge, especially when you're playing quarterback in the NFL.

"The competitiveness are traits that are great to have as a quarterback. Hopefully, there's other teams that believe that.''